Memento mori

“Remember you must die!” – Since the outgoing Middle Ages, this warning was the subject of small artworks that often graphically confronted the viewer with death and decay. However, the hope for eternal life that is intrinsic to the Christian faith simultaneously transformed this reminder of the transience of life into a summons to live piously and thus secure the “treasures of the Kingdom of Heaven”.

Skeleton of a human being carved from ivory. This lies in a kind of coffin with recesses on the sides.

Memento Mori, Western Switzerland, c. 1520, ivory, ebony, 12.5 x 42 cm, Inv. No. B 160, © Rheinisches Bildarchiv

Stained glass depicting two naked boys. These blowing soap bubbles facing each other.

Two Boys Blowing Bubbles (Homo Bulla), Cologne, c. 1530, stained glass, 96 x 68 cm, Inv. No. M 572, © Rheinisches Bildarchiv

Gold plated chain with several small skulls strung on it.

Paternoster necklace, Mexico, c. 1580, hardwood skull beads with micro-carvings on hummingbird feathers, gilt silver with enamel, L. 39 cm, Inv. No. A 1059, © Rheinisches Bildarchiv

Dancing bone man made of ivory. His body wraps around a cloth.

Danse Macabre (Dancing Death),  Germany, c. 1700,ivory, h. 13 cm, inv. B 151, © Rheinisches Bildarchiv

Putto asleep while lying down. As if on a pillow, his head rests on a skull.

Sleeping Putto with Skull, Netherlands (?), 17th cent., ivory, 4.3 x 14 x 5.7 cm, inv. B 154, © Rheinisches Bildarchiv

Artfully carved holder with four hourglasses. These are filled with bunch sand.

Pulpit hourglass, Breinum near Hildesheim, late 17th cent., wood and green glass, filled with red sand, h. 42 cm, inv. A 1065, © Rheinisches Bildarchiv

Head carved from ivory. The eyes are closed. The mouth is a little open so that teeth are visible.

Double-sided Rosary Bead (front), German (?), 17th cent.,
ivory with setting fragments, H. 3.8 cm, inv. B 129,
© Rheinisches Bildarchiv

Human skull made of ivory. On him there are gold remains.

Double-sided Rosary Bead (back), German (?), 17th cent.,
ivory with setting fragments, h. 3.8 cm, inv.no. B 129,
© Rheinisches Bildarchiv

Liturgical black robe with gold decoration and stylized skulls on sleeves and hemline

Mourning Dalmatic, vestment fabric: silk damask, Spain, c. 1730, borders: embroidery with silk and gold-wrapped thread, end of the 16th cent., l. 135 cm, w. 150 cm, inv.no. P 235, © Museum Schnütgen, Photo: Thomas Zwillinger

Waxödlein on silk fabric in a wooden coffin.

Wax Figurine Depicting Death on Silk in a Wooden Coffin, Southern German (?), 18th cent., 7.1 x 26.8 cm, inv. A 1053, © Rheinisches Bildarchiv

Statue made of wood with a standing skeleton wrapped in rags, a scythe and a tombstone. At the foot sits a toad.

Death as the Grim Reaper, South Germany (?), 18th cent., wood, h. 23.6 cm, inv. A 995, © Rheinisches Bildarchiv

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